Midnight Sun
by DigificWriter
Summary: Edward Masen was your typical 17-year-old high school student until he met the Cullens and their daughter Bella and found his life irrevocably changed.
1. Chapter 1: First Meeting

Disclaimer: This work is based on characters, situations, and ideas from the Twilight Saga created by Stephanie Meyer. No infringement of Mrs. Meyer's original works is intended, and this work is intended for entertainment purposes only.

Midnight Sun

L. DAVID ELMER

CONTENTS

1. FIRST MEETING

2. HUNGER

3. MIXED SIGNALS

4. FEAR

5. STARTING THINGS OVER

6. FALLING

7. FIRST DATE

8. SUSPICION AND DENIAL

9. LOCAL LEGENDS

10. THE DANCE

11. TRAGEDY

12. RUNNING

13. LETTING GO

14. GETTING CLOSER

15. REALITY CHECK

16. RUNNING AGAIN

17. TAKING A STAND

18. MOMENT OF TRUTH

19. AFTERMATH

20. THE PROMISE

1. FIRST MEETING

I STOOD IN THE MEADOW, INHALING THE SCENT OF THE RAIN AS IT POURED DOWN FROM THE CLOUDS.

Suddenly, I heard a soft rustling sound and a deer – the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on – stepped out of the forest. She stared at me for a few seconds and I stayed perfectly still for fear of spooking her. When she didn't immediately turn and run, I slowly stepped towards her and stopped, again waiting to see if she'd bolt.

When she remained where she was, I again started to move, taking another step towards her. Suddenly it felt as if the meadow had just been struck by lightning, and I was momentarily stunned into stillness again. I shook my head and took another step forward.

I was now close enough to the deer that I could reach out my hand and touch her. I looked at her again, and she looked back at me. Before I could get completely lost in her golden-brown eyes, though, I shook myself, slowly raised my hand, flattened the palm, and reached towards her neck…

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! The sound of my alarm dissipated the dream, and I let out an audible groan and sat up. Reaching over towards my clock – which read 5:00 - I silenced the alarm and turned on the radio as I got out of bed and walked over to the closet.

'_Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a 75% chance of rain'_, the local weather forecaster was saying. I shrugged and picked out a black T-shirt that had the word 'Fang' written on it in silver lettering, and then grabbed a pair of faded blue jeans from my dresser. I then headed for the bathroom to shower.

20 minutes later, I got out of the shower, dressed, and headed from my room downstairs to the kitchen to find my mother, Elizabeth Masen, eating a bowl of cereal and some toast. She was dressed in a tan suit dress, and wore her copper hair – the same shade as my own – in a tight, professional bun.

"Morning, honey," she said.

My mom works as an on-staff psychologist at a private clinic in the city of Port Angeles, an hour-and-forty minute drive from our home in the town of Forks, Washington, and has to be at work by 7, so it's not unusual for her to be awake early, and I had early-morning band rehearsal at 6, which explains why I had my alarm set for 5:00.

Although I dwarf my mom in height by about 6 inches (I'm 6'2 and she's 5'6), the rest of our physical features are nearly identical, and, had I been born a girl, we could pass for twins. In addition to having the same hair color (copper, as I mentioned above), we both have emerald green eyes.

"Your father's flight gets in at about 5:30 tonight," she said as she finished her breakfast, put her bowl in the sink, and grabbed her car keys. "I've been asked to cover an additional shift, so I won't be home until about 8. I'll grab something to eat at the hospital, so you and your father might want to grab some takeout."

My father, Edward Masen Sr., is an Assistant District Attorney for the state of Washington, and is frequently traveling around the country, mainly to Washington D.C. His job means that we're fairly well-off financially, but my mom chooses to work as a way to put the skills she learned in college to use.

After my mom left, I finished off a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice, and then headed back to my room to grab my backpack and my insulin kit (I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes as a child). I then headed back downstairs, grabbed my own car keys, and headed out the door, locking the door behind me. Because of my father's job, we live in a Victorian-style bungalow just outside town, and I have my own car, a silver Volvo S60R that I received as a present for my 16th birthday.

5 minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School, which, like most everything else in Forks, is just off the highway. If it weren't for the sign in front of the building, you wouldn't even know it was a school, since it looks more like a collection of matching houses – made out of maroon-colored bricks – than your typical modern-day high school. Because of the early hour, the student parking lot was almost deserted, which made finding a parking spot easy. I parked in a spot as close to the school as I could get (which made it easy to get under cover on those days when it was already storming by the time I left my house), grabbed my backpack and insulin kit, and headed inside the school, making a beeline for the band room.

Forks High, like many public and private high schools in the country, has a band program, but what sets it apart is its inclusion of instruction on the piano, which suits me, because when I was ten, my parents discovered that I was naturally gifted and had a prodigious gift at playing the piano, and they were more than willing to help foster that gift; in fact, it's one of the reasons we made the move to Forks (I was born in Chicago) due to the aforementioned piano program at Forks High. I won't bore you with the specific details of my morning rehearsal, other than to tell you that it was fairly laidback even though the band was preparing to travel to Seattle for a big music festival put on by the University of Washington.

The rehearsal ended at 7:30, which gave me just enough time to get to my locker and inject myself with insulin before the start of school. As I made my way from the band room to my locker, I ran into a friend of mine, Tyler Crowley, and that's when I first heard about the new kids.

"Hey, Eddie, my man," Tyler said as he approached me. "How's the music coming?"

"Hey, Ty," I said. "What's going on?"

"Everybody's excited because there's a bunch of new kids starting today. I guess their family just moved here over the weekend. There are five of them – two guys and three girls – and I hear they're really smokin' hot." When I looked at him funny, he added "The girls, I mean."

I smiled. "I know what you meant," I said. "Anyway, I've gotta run."

I left Tyler and reached my locker with about 5 minutes to spare before the first bell, and quickly checked my blood sugar and injected myself with insulin. I then headed off to my first class – Trig - making it there just as the final bell rang.

The teacher, Mr. Varner, was the most hated teacher in school because he was notoriously unforgiving about tardies and missed assignments and was rather condescending towards students. He had barely finished taking roll call when the door opened and a girl – who looked somewhat like a human-sized Tinkerbell – walked in, shut the door, and approached Mr. Varner's desk. She handed him a class schedule and a note. He glanced at it, scowled, and stamped the schedule She turned to go, but he stopped her and said "Class, we have a new student joining us this morning, and I'd like her to introduce herself to all of you."

I didn't think it was fair of Mr. Varner to make an example of her because she was late, but the girl seemed to take the whole thing in stride.

"I'm Alice Cullen," she said cheerfully. "My family and I just moved here from Alaska over the weekend."

"Thank you, Ms. Cullen," Mr. Varner said. "You may take a seat."

Whispers from other students followed her as she walked to the back and took an empty seat directly behind me.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, I was gathering my things when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Alice smiling at me.

"Hi," she said.

"H-hi," I stammered, trying not to blush. "I'm Edward Masen," I said, then asked "What's your next class?" to cover my embarrassment.

"Biology II with Mr. Banner," she said.

"I've got Government, but I'll show you where the Biology room is," I said, then hastily added "If you'd like me to, I mean."

"Sure," Alice said.

We left the classroom together and I led her to the Biology room before heading off to the Government class room, making it just in time for roll call.

I didn't have any other classes with Alice that morning, and none of her siblings were in any of my classes (English with Mr. Mason [No relation] and Gym), so I didn't see her again until lunch. When I entered the cafeteria, I saw her sitting at a table near the back with four others – two girls and two guys. She suddenly looked in my direction and waved, but my attention was grabbed by Tyler, who was sitting at a table across the room from the Cullens' table.

I waved at him and stood in line to grab some food, then walked over to his table and sat down in the only available seat, which placed me in a direct eye-line with Alice and the girl she was seated beside, whose appearance was striking enough to catch my attention. As I'd walked Alice to the Biology room earlier, I'd privately thought that she had to be the prettiest girl in the school, but she was plain in comparison to the girl sitting next to her.

Forcing myself to stop staring lest I catch unwanted attention, I started eating and trying to pay attention to the conversation of the others at my table. With Spring Break a little over two months away, Tyler and others were apparently planning a trip to Seattle. When Tyler asked me if I wanted to come, I said yes, but kept trying to eat in order to avoid staring back at the Cullens' table. Finally, though, I gave up trying and asked the question I'd been dying to ask since I'd first sat down.

"Does anybody know much about those new Cullen kids?"

"They seem kind of snooty to me," said Jessica Stanley, a girl whom I didn't personally get along with. Hearing her refer to the Cullens as 'snooty' struck me as somewhat ironic given that she had a reputation as being a bit 'snooty' herself, but I kept my thoughts to myself.

"I guess their family just moved here from Chicago," Ben Cheney, a kid who was in my Gym class, said. "I've got Gym with one of the guys, Emmett; he seems kind of nice, even though he spent most of the class by himself." He pointed towards the table at a rather tall and well-muscled boy who had his arms wrapped around the shoulders of a tall girl with blonde hair.

"The blonde girl he's tangled up in is Rosalie," Mike Newton, a kid who played Trumpet in the band and with whom I was only marginally friends, said. "I sat next to her in English and I agree with Jessica. She's definitely 'snooty'."

"I'm in History with Alice," I admitted. "She seems friendly enough. What about the girl next to her?"

"That's Bella," Eric Yorkie, Tyler's best friend, said, and I could hear a note of infatuation in his voice that instantly made me want to slug him, even though, for the most part, he and I were friends and got along as well as Tyler and I did. I tamped down the impulse and resumed eating.

"Bella," I whispered.

My first class following lunch was Biology II with Mr. Banner. I headed back to my locker to check my insulin levels and grab my books, and made it to the classroom with 5 minutes to spare before class started.

The Biology classroom was filled with 15 or so black-topped tables (like those you'd find in a science lab), each of which sat two people. I took my usual spot – at a table in the center of the room next to an empty stool – and waited as the rest of the students filed in. Mr. Banner had just started calling roll when the door opened and Bella came in. Mr. Banner paused long enough to stamp her class schedule and gestured towards the empty seat at my table, telling her to sit there.

As Bella made her way down the rows of tables, I suddenly had a flashback to this morning's dream of the deer and the forest, and felt the same electrical sensation as I had in the dream when I'd first laid eyes on the deer. Bella sat down at the table, and I had to physically shake myself in order to clear my head lest she notice my unusual reaction and say something about it.


	2. Chapter 2: Hunger

2. HUNGER

_HIGH SCHOOL… THE TIME OF DAY WHEN I MOST WISHED I COULD SLEEP, EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE._

_I sat in the corner of the Forks High school cafeteria, staring at the cracks in the well-worn plaster walls while my siblings chatted amongst themselves, discussing their morning classes as if they were typical teenagers adjusting to the first day at a new school after being uprooted from their comfortable lives, while simultaneously trying to shield them all – especially Jasper – from the myriad feelings, emotions, and, most importantly, scents of our classmates._

_Suddenly, though, I noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere of the room, and looked up to see Alice waving at a tall, copper-haired boy who'd just walked in. For a split second, I thought she was going to beckon him over to our table, but his attention was grabbed by another student, and I lapsed back into my own world._

_I was dragged back to reality when I suddenly felt as if someone was watching me, and glanced up to see that the copper-haired boy was sitting directly across from me. In spite of myself, I found that I couldn't help but watch him as he tried to eat and simultaneously pay attention to the conversations of the other students at his table, only for his gaze to continually flicker in the direction of our table, and specifically in my direction. I ignored the attention and continued to stare at the walls, but was soon distracted again when I realized that the copper-haired boy was now talking to the others at his table, and that I could clearly hear what was being said despite the fact that I was shielding, which usually drowned out all conversation._

_"Does anybody know much about those new Cullen kids?"the copper-haired boy asked._

_"They seem kind of snooty to me," a girl said. I tried to recall who she was and remembered that her name was Jessica and that she was in my Spanish class._

_'She's one to talk' I thought, tuning back in on the conversation._

_"I guess their family just moved here from Chicago," another boy said. I remembered him from my Trig class, but couldn't recall his name. "I've got Gym with one of the guys, Emmett; he seems kind of nice, even though he spent most of the class by himself." I watched him point in our direction at Emmett._

_"The blonde girl he's tangled up in is Rosalie," another boy said. "I sat next to her in English and I agree with Jessica. She's definitely 'snooty'."_

_"I'm in History with Alice," the copper-haired boy said. "She seems friendly enough. What about the girl next to her?_

_"That's Bella," another boy said, and I inwardly groaned at the poorly disguised attraction that accompanied his tone just as I felt a twinge of the copper-haired boy's indignation, which came in 'loud and clear' from Jasper despite my shielding._

_"Bella," the copper-haired boy said, whispering my name. As the word passed his lips, I suddenly felt the world go blank as an emotion I'd not felt in a long time suddenly welled up in my cold heart and throat, and I suddenly realized that, simply by saying my name, the copper-haired boy had done something that none of his classmates had. He'd made me DESIRE him… or, more specifically, his blood._

_Fighting back a sudden wave of nausea, I stood up, getting weird glances from Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, and quickly snuck out of the cafeteria, my departure going unnoticed by anyone else. _

_Once in the hallway, I leaned back against the wall, trying to process what had just happened. I hadn't had that strong of a craving for blood since the days immediately after I'd woken up and discovered the blessings and curses of my new existence, an existence that I'd neither wanted nor asked for._

_I felt the nausea pass, but decided to skip out on my next class and go for a run. I started walking down the hall, but stopped as I heard someone call me._

_I turned around to see Alice walking towards me._

_"Are you okay?" she asked._

_I nodded._

_"I'm getting out of here," I said. "I don't know what happened back there, but I've got to eat something before I pass out, or something else bad happens."_

_"Wait until after school gets out, and I'll go with you," Alice said._

_"I can't," I said._

_"You've got to, Bells," she said, and I could tell by the faint emphasis she put on the words that this wasn't just her being the 'supportive sister' or trying to avoid me drawing attention to myself – and us – by skipping out on the first day._

_"What did you see?" I asked her._

_"Nothing really specific; there's just something about that copper-haired boy – Edward - that's important. He's in your Biology class, and you've got to be there today," she said. Before I could ask her how she knew his name, she said "I talked to him after History, and he showed me how to get to Biology."_

_Even though all of my instincts were warning me against it, I nodded and said "Okay. I'll go to class, and meet you after school."_

_"See you later, Bells," Alice said, walking off in the opposite direction. Hoping that Alice hadn't just convinced me to make a huge mistake, I headed off to the Biology classroom._

_Compared to most of the classrooms at Forks, the Biology room was rather spacious (being the size of about two classrooms combined) and was filled with black-topped tables, each of which had two stools on it. Pausing outside the doors, I took a deep breath (even though I didn't actually have to) and walked inside, approaching the teacher, Mr. Banner. He glanced at my class schedule, stamped it, and told me to take a seat, pointing directly at a table in the center where the copper-haired boy, Edward, was sitting._

_"Is there anywhere else I can sit," I asked._

_"Sorry, that's the only seat open right now. Maybe I can assign you a new seat tomorrow; come see me after class and we'll talk about it."_

_I nodded and headed down the rows of tables, sliding onto the stool and trying my best not to look at Edward even as I felt the same DESIRE from earlier starting to well up in my heart and throat. I kept my shield wrapped tight around me as Mr. Banner started a lecture on cellular anatomy. Even though I'd studied the subject before, I took notes anyway._

_The class seemed to drag on, moreso than any of the others had, and I kept noticing that Edward would cast sideways glances at me occasionally. Each time he did, I looked up and glared at him, hoping that he didn't notice how dark my eyes had gotten, and managed to make it through the lesson without giving in to the thoughts that were creeping through my mind about what it would be like to kill the rest of the class and drag Edward behind the school where I could taste him without being disturbed._

_The second the final bell rang, I quickly grabbed my books and left, all but rushing to the parking lot to wait for the rest of my family. The second I saw them, I ran to Alice and said "We've got to get out of here NOW."_

_"I'll drive your Volvo home, Bells," Emmett said. I tossed him the keys, and then Alice and I took off into the hills behind the school._

_I reveled in the feel of pure, unadulterated speed as Alice and I rushed headlong through the forest, not stopping until we'd put several miles between us and Forks. Finally, we stopped in a clearing._

_"Alice, I love you, but if you ever make me do that again, I'm going to KILL you, I said._

_"Sorry, Bells," she said. "Was it that bad?"_

_I nodded. "I was actually planning out the fastest way to kill everyone else in the room and drag Edward out here so I could taste him. The bad thing is that I still wanted that boy – Edward – even though I knew that it'd make me sick."_

_"This boy is important, somehow, and needs to be in our lives… especially YOUR life. If you don't think you can handle it, though, I'll figure something else out."_

_I nodded, and we resumed our flight through the woods, eventually reaching a stream where several deer were in the process of drinking water. I went one way and Alice went the other, taking down the two deer in a matter of seconds, which was able to quench the hunger I'd been fighting since lunch._

**Notes: I chose to do this chapter in Bella's POV because I needed to be able to showcase her personality, powers, and mindset (which I'll get deeper into later), and didn't think I could do that if the chapter was from Edward's POV. I also wanted to 'shake things up' a bit and make this story different from other Twilight AUs where the roles are reversed. Subsequent chapters will therefore alternate between her POV and Edward's POV.**

**BTW, thanks to everybody who's reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad people are reading this thing.**


	3. Chapter 3: Mixed Signals

3. MIXED SIGNALS

ONCE SCHOOL WAS OVER, I QUICKLY DROVE HOME, GRABBED A QUICK SNACK AND CHECKED MY INSULIN LEVELS, AND THEN HEADED OFF TO THE AIRPORT TO WAIT FOR MY DAD'S FLIGHT TO ARRIVE.

As I drove, my thoughts turned to Biology and Bella. She'd spent the entire class period listening intently as Mr. Banner lectured us on cellular anatomy, dutifully taking notes, even when I made attempts to get her attention in order to at least introduce myself.

She HAD glanced in my direction a few times during class, but never for very long, and it seemed to me that, each time she did glance my way, her eyes were getting progressively darker. They'd started out as a warm chocolate brown, but by the time she'd glared at me the last time I looked in her direction, they were a deeper color, almost black.

The idea that her eyes had changed color was something that I couldn't really explain, and so I passed it off as my imagination and pushed it to the back of my mind.

Traffic heading between Forks and Port Angeles was unusually heavy, which meant that I didn't get to the airport until right at 5:30, and barely made it to the baggage claim just as my dad was walking out through security. I waved at him, getting his attention, and together we collected his luggage and headed out to the Volvo.

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful. My mom made it home around 8:30, a half-hour later than she'd planned, and she and my dad holed themselves up in their bedroom while I watched TV for a bit before heading upstairs to my own bedroom, where I grabbed a cassette recorder and sat down at the portable keyboard my parents had given me – also a 17th birthday present – to try and work on what my parents and Tyler called my 'pet project'.

The 'pet project' was an original piano composition inspired by the classic concerto pieces of Mozart and Beethoven. I'd started work on it shortly after we'd moved to Forks, but, even nearly two years later, it was still largely unfinished.

The instant I sat down at the keyboard, thoughts of Bella and of the dream popped into my mind, and I just started playing, the recorder capturing the music as it flowed from the keyboard into the 'ether'. I became so engrossed in my playing that I only stopped when my dad knocked on my door and told me that it was 2:30 in the morning and I needed to get some sleep.

The following day passed in a bit of a blur. I was tired from my long night of playing and spent most of the day trying to stay awake and only being marginally successful, so by the time I got to Biology that afternoon, I was pretty much a walking zombie, which is why it took me a few seconds to realize that something was different. As I sat down, Bella smiled and said "You're Edward, right?" "I'm sorry I ignored you yesterday. I wasn't feeling very good."

"That's okay," I said, hoping she didn't notice the breathlessness in my tone. "You've got to be really smart if you could focus on Mr. Banner's lecture. He tends to be kind of bland."

She laughed, and I felt the same electrical tingle I'd experienced the day before infuse my entire body at the sound. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I smiled at her and we settled down as the bell rang and class began.

After calling roll – during which I learned two things: 1) that 'Bella' was short for Isabella and 2) that Bella's last name wasn't Cullen as I was expecting, but Swan – Mr. Banner gave us the assignment of taking a bunch of pre-prepared slides of cells, studying them under a microscope, writing down our observations, and then comparing and contrasting them with the observations of our partners. To make things easy, he divided us up by table, which made Bella my partner, which gave me a chance to surreptitiously 'check her out' the way I had during lunch and class the previous day, although she ended up catching me several times and laughingly telling me to cut it out. As we worked, we chatted about various things, telling each other about our families (I found out that she wasn't the only Cullen sibling with a different last name, and that Rosalie and Jasper – whose last name was Hale – and she had been adopted by their parents, Carlisle and Esme, several years before, and I told her about my parents' jobs), and, before either of us realized it, class was over. I thanked Bella for being such a great partner (our observations were nearly identical, which'd earned us high praise from Mr. Banner), and told her I'd see her the next day, heading off to my last class – Spanish – feeling better than I'd felt in a long time and wondering if I'd ever come back down to Earth.

It turns out that I should've remembered the old phrase 'What goes up must come down', because that's exactly what happened.

The next day (Wednesday), I spent the entire morning preoccupied by thoughts of Bella, slowly coming to the realization that I couldn't wait to see her.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't get the chance, as none of the Cullens were at school, which caused a bit of an uproar and forced me to spend most of lunch listening to speculation – fueled mainly by Jessica, who seemed to have decided that none of the Cullens were worth her time because of how closely they stuck together and channeled her feelings into jealously and animosity – as to the reasons behind their absence.

The assignment in Biology that day was one that required partners, so Mr. Banner paired me up with Angela Weber, with whom I was fairly good friends, and her partner, a kid named Connor whom I didn't know all that well, and we managed to get the assignment completed even though I spent the entire time wishing that Bella was the one working with me.

I was expecting Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Bella to be back the following day (Thursday), but they weren't. In fact, they didn't return until the day after (Friday), which is the day I found out that Bella was planning to transfer out of our Biology class and into another period.

As I pulled into my usual parking spot, I noticed the presence of a yellow Porsche in the spot directly next to mine. I'd noticed the car on Monday afternoon, and remembered that it belonged to Alice. Since she and her siblings didn't have any early-morning commitments, I found it odd that she'd be this early, but figured that there had to be an explanation and headed into the school, where I found her waiting for me outside the band room.

"Hi," she said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," I said hesitantly. "What's up?"

"Bella's changing her schedule later today," she said.

At her words, I felt as if someone had just punched me in the stomach.

"She's changing her schedule?" I managed to say. "Why?"

"I can't tell you. She just needs to do this, and she needs you to understand," Alice said.

"Understand? Why would she expect me to understand? First she ignores me, then she opens up to me, then you guys are gone for two days, and now she's changing her schedule?" I could feel my anger and confusion rising, and I tried to tamp it down, since it wasn't fair to take things out on Alice. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful, and the words came out loud and heated.

"About the absence thing," Alice said, "we had a family emergency. As for the rest, this is just how it has to be."

I could feel my anger rising again, so I simply nodded and walked into the band room without another word, although I could swear I heard Alice whisper "don't give up on her yet," under her breath just loud enough for me to make out as the door shut.

**Notes: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed the story thus far and added me to their 'Favorite Author' and/or 'Story Alert' listings. Knowing that there are people who are interested in this story makes me want to keep going with it.**


	4. Chapter 4: Fear

4. FEAR

**AFTER OUR HUNT, ALICE AND I RETURNED HOME IN TIME TO SEE CARLISLE'S CAR PULL INTO THE DRIVEWAY. OUR HOUSE IS SITUATED AS CLOSE TO THE FOREST AS YOU CAN GET IN FORKS, AND HAS A LONG DRIVEWAY THAT MAKES IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE FROM THE ROAD.**

**This arrangement gives us privacy as well as concealment and isolation from the rest of the world. The actual house itself is a Victorian-style mansion that Esme found and is currently in the process of redesigning and altering. The house really doesn't need redesigning, but it gives her something to do during our endless existence of sleepless nights and during the day when Carlisle is working and the rest of us are trying to 'blend in' by attending school.**

**Carlisle spends most of his time working, so it was a treat to see him home. Even though he didn't actually give physical birth to us, we still call him 'dad' and I have a very loving relationship with him stretching back to the time that he first found me and adopted me into his family.**

**Alice and I both greeted Carlisle, and she whispered to me, "Talk to him." I glared at her – the last thing I wanted to do was burden Carlisle or Esme with the problem of my overwhelming attraction to Edward's blood, although part of my mind knew that if anyone in our family was likely to understand the true core of my dilemma, it would be Carlisle – before begrudgingly nodding. Because of her abilities – she's a precognitive clairvoyant – she's rarely wrong about anything, and I can usually trust her not to steer me – or anyone else in the family – wrong.**

**"Can I talk to you," I asked Carlisle.**

**"Of course, Bella," he said. "I need to find Esme and the others first, but come see me in about 20 minutes."**

**"Okay," I said. Heading into the house, I walked up the stairs to my bedroom, which is situated at the back of the house and has a balcony that lets me make quick escapes should I find myself getting restless or needing to hunt without disturbing the rest of the family, grabbed my IPod and hooked it up to the dock, and let myself get lost in the music (I was currently listening to the Eagles' "Hotel California", which was one of my favorite songs because it reminded me of my past).**

**20 minutes later (thereabouts, as I sort've lost track of time), I left my room and walked down the hall to Carlisle's study. The door was slightly open, but I knocked anyway out of courtesy.**

**"Come in, Bella," Carlisle said. I pushed the door open and walked in. Carlisle was sitting behind his expansive oak desk - which looks like a replica of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's desk from his years in the White House – but he got up and walked over to the room's chaise lounger and sat down, gesturing that I should do the same.**

**"What's bothering you?" he asked me.**

**I just let it all go, telling him about lunch, Biology, Edward, and the overwhelming desire and hunger I'd felt for his blood.**

**"Even though I know giving in would jeopardize our cover here and make me physically ill, I couldn't stop the desire. I almost skipped out on the rest of Biology and came back here, but Alice told me I had to go back. I guess this boy's somehow important, but I don't trust myself to be around him. I was barely able to keep from killing him – and everyone else in the class - today, and I don't know how long I can keep my composure," I said.**

**"You'll find a way to work this through, Bella," Carlisle said. "You're a very strong-willed woman, and you always have been. It's one of the reasons I wanted you to be part of our family."**

**Before I could respond, there was another knock on the door and Alice came in.**

**"Carlisle's right, Bells," she said. "You're going to figure this out. This boy's important. You've spent way too much time since Carlisle found you by yourself, and it's time to change that."**

**Like I said, Alice's advice has never steered me wrong before, and I didn't see any reason to stop trusting her now, so I sighed and nodded before giving both her and Carlisle a hug.**

**"Thanks," I said, then got up and left, with Alice following a few seconds later.**

**"Come to my room, Bells," she said. "We've got to pick out an outfit for tomorrow. Edward's already halfway towards crushing on you, and we need to push him the rest of the way."**

**Rolling my eyes – Alice will take any opportunity she can to help me improve my fashion-style, which she thinks is woefully 'pedestrian' – I nevertheless followed her, and we spent the next few hours selecting an outfit for me before I returned to my room and Alice went to find Jasper.**

**I spent the majority of the night alternating between listening to music and sitting at my computer typing (one of the things that I use to pass the time is writing; I've written and self-published two novels [an alternate take on Jane Austen's classic novels 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma'] and am currently working on a third) before walking outside onto my balcony and watching the sun come up. I then headed off to get ready for another tedious day of school. During the night, I'd made the decision that I was going to take Carlisle and Alice's advice and 'take the bull by the horns', as it were by forcing myself to control my desire for Edward's blood and become his friend… or take the first tentative steps in that direction, at least.**

**The day passed in somewhat of a blur, which is unusual, and it wasn't long until I found myself walking into Mr. Banner's 6th period Biology class. I'd left the lunchroom early in order to be waiting for Edward when he got to class (I'd heard from Alice that he seemed to be one of the first ones to arrive for class, and I wanted to beat him). As he came in and sat down, I made sure that my shield was wrapped as tightly around me as I could, smiled at him, and said "You're Edward, right? I'm sorry I ignored you yesterday. I wasn't feeling very good."**

**"That's okay," he said, and I could clearly hear the breathlessness in his voice. "You've got to be really smart if you could focus on Mr. Banner's lecture. He tends to be kind of bland."**

**Even though I'm no longer physically capable of blushing, I felt my body reacting to his compliment nonetheless and laughed. Trying to hide the blush that was creeping up his temples, he smiled back and we settled down as the bell rang.**

**The actual class was a bit of a whirlwind for me as I let myself go and got to know Edward a bit as we worked on the assignment (taking a bunch of pre-prepared slides of cells, studying them under a microscope, writing down our observations, and then comparing and contrasting them with the observations of our partners), telling him a little bit about my family (he asked why my last name was Swan instead of Cullen – which he'd found out when Mr. Banner called roll - so I told him that I'd been adopted by Carlisle and Esme several years before, as had Jasper and Rosalie, whose last name was Hale), and by the time class ended, I was feeling pretty happy with myself because I hadn't once lapsed into the thoughts of killing him that had plagued me the day before. As we both said goodbye, I was feeling better and more complete than I had in years, and was genuinely looking forward to class the next day and the chance to spend more time with him.**

**After Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and I arrived home, I decided that I wanted to 'get some fresh air', as it were, and, after letting Esme and Alice know where I was going, I leapt off of my balcony and ran into the woods.**

**I ran for a good 20 minutes before reaching my destination: a secluded meadow I'd found while hunting the day after we'd moved in, and which I'd decided to make my own personal hideaway. Finding a spot on a rock at the edge of the clearing, I sat back and listened to music on my IPod.**

**Before I knew it, it was starting to get dark, and I realized it was time to head back. Even though we could see perfectly, my family tries not to stay out after dark, or to go hunting in the dark unless we don't have a choice. As I got up and stretched (even though I didn't need to, it was a reflexive memory from when I was alive), I heard a rustling sound, and, seconds later, a man emerged from the forest across the meadow from me.**

**I immediately froze as I recognized him. He was of average height, and, in contrast to most of our kind, completely unobtrusively plain, his light brown hair and regular features both nondescript.**

**He looked around and then turned in my direction. I tried to move, but he was standing a few feet away from me in a flash.**

**"Isabella," he said, drawling the word, his use of my given name sending an apprehensive tingle down my spine.**

**This was the man – the creature – which'd made me into what I am, and whom I hadn't seen in close to 20 years.**

**"James," I said, the word coming out more like a hiss.**

**"There's no need to be confrontational, 'love,'" James said, using his pet name for me, which caused another apprehensive tingle to run down my spine.**

**Before either of us – James or I – could say anything, I heard footsteps and someone shouting my name. A few seconds later, Carlisle entered the clearing and made his way to my side, staring at James.**

**"Good evening," he said, trying to keep his voice civil and neutral. "I'm Carlisle, and you're disturbing my daughter."**

**"'Daughter'?" James said incredulously.**

**Carlisle nodded. "That's right," he said.**

**"I wasn't expecting to find others up here," James said.**

**"This region is usually empty except for my family and the occasional visitor, like you," Carlisle said.**

**"What's your hunting range?" James asked.**

**Carlisle ignored the implication behind the question and replied "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby, and try to remain as inconspicuous as possible, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from hunting in this immediate area."**

**"I see," James drawled. "I'll try to stay out of your way, then" he paused, and looked straight at me, "although, it would be nice to 'catch up' with Isabella. It's been so long."**

**"I'm not interested, James," I said. "You lost your claim to me long ago, and I have no intention of letting you resume it." The ice in my voice was as cold as my body.**

**"Come now, 'love'. As I said, there's no need to be confrontational."**

**"Bella said no, James, and I would appreciate it if you respected her wishes."**

**James' nostrils flared, but he eventually nodded.**

**"Goodbye again, Isabella," he said. He then turned and disappeared back into the forest.**

**Carlisle and I stood in the clearing for a few seconds before I turned to him and gave him a hug.**

**"Thanks," I said. "How'd you know where to find me?"**

**"Alice. I remember what you told me about him, and knew you'd need my help, so I came."**

**He fell silent. I could tell there was something else he wanted to say, and knew that he wasn't going to unless I broached the subject.**

**"What's wrong?" I asked.**

**"Alice saw something else. It's not concrete, but it involves James, that boy you told me about – Edward – and several others. I'm worried James might not be in the area alone and that, if he caught Edward's scent on you, he'll ignore my warning about not hunting here and go after him personally or send one of the people he's with, which could create a lot of trouble. I'm also worried that he'll ignore your warning and try to find you again, which could lead to more trouble."**

**The run back to the house was a somber one, both Carlisle and I lost in our own thoughts. When we arrived back home, Carlisle called a family meeting, and I recounted the confrontation with James.**

**"Even if James or those he is with don't go after Edward, there's a good chance they will ignore my warning about not hunting in this area and go after someone else instead. As a precaution, I'm pulling everyone out of school for a couple of days at least while we wait to see what happens. Hopefully, my fears will be groundless and we can get back to our normal lives, but if it doesn't, we may have to leave," Carlisle said.**

**He turned to look at Alice and asked "Can you see anything else about this situation?"**

**Alice shook her head.**

**"Meeting adjourned," Carlisle said.**

**The next two days (Wednesday and Thursday) seemed to pass in slow motion. Carlisle still went to work, but the rest of us remained in the house, trying to keep ourselves occupied. Alice would occasionally get faint impressions, but they were so vague and indistinct that we couldn't really do anything about them.**

**For my part, I spent most of the time listening to music and replaying the events of Tuesday's Biology class with Edward over and over in my mind, fervently hoping that the decision I'd made to 'make the best of things' – a decision I'd come to after my talk with Carlisle and Alice on Monday evening – wouldn't end up being the cause of a catastrophe that would result in Edward's death and my family being forced to leave the area.**

**By Thursday evening, things seemed to be back to normal. There had been no reports of any 'animal attacks' either in Forks or the immediate vicinity, and Alice hadn't had any concrete visions or impressions. When Carlisle got home from work, he called a meeting and told us that he felt it was safe to resume our normal lives, and that Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and I could return to school the following morning.**

**Carlisle might've thought it was safe for us to go back to our normal lives, but I didn't. I knew James and his personality, and knew that, even if he was respecting Carlisle's wishes, things would inevitably change, and that there was only one way to truly keep Edward safe. He couldn't be in my life any more than was absolutely necessary, and that meant that he and I couldn't be Biology partners. In fact, I couldn't even be in the same class as him, because, if and when James came back, he'd use Edward to get to me.**

**Seconds after I made the decision to change classes and stay away from Edward as much as possible, I heard a knock on my door and Alice came in. From the expression on her face, I could tell she'd seen me make the decision, and that she didn't approve.**

**"I have to do this," I told her. "It's the only way to keep Edward safe. James may not have made his move yet, but he's going to, and I couldn't live with myself if he used Edward to get to me."**

**"This thing with James doesn't change anything. You and Edward need each other in your lives," she said.**

**When I still wouldn't budge, she blurted "I saw Edward as part of the family. It happened the first time in History Monday morning, which is why I introduced myself to him, and it happened again just before you made the decision to change your schedule."**

**"I'd rather negate one of your visions than put Edward in danger. I'm changing my schedule, and I want you to find him and let him know, but without telling him why," I said, the finality in my tone making it clear that I wasn't going to change my mind.**

**Alice nodded. I could tell she was disappointed in my decision, but loved me enough to respect it even if she disagreed with me.**

**I made the decision to skip out on my first period class and go to school during second period to change my schedule. When we'd registered, the secretary, Mrs. Cope, had said we had a week's 'grace period' in which to make changes to our schedules, so I felt confident that I'd be able to get into one of Mr. Banner's other Biology classes.**

**Sure enough, Mrs. Cope was more than accomodating, and by the time the bell rang signaling the start of third period, I was in possession of a new schedule listing Biology II as my fourth period class in place of Spanish with Mrs. Goff, which was now my sixth period class.**

**I'd shot down Alice's objections, and therefore wasn't expecting anyone to challenge me on my decision. Looking back, I probably should've been, but I wasn't.**


	5. Chapter 5: Starting Things Over

**Note: I apologize for the lapse between updates. I'd initially wanted to tell this from Edward's POV, but Bella basically beat me over the head until I changed my mind, so both this chapter and the next are going to be from her perspective.**

5. STARTING THINGS OVER

**BECAUSE I WAS CONFIDENT THAT MY DECISION TO SWITCH BIOLOGY PERIODS WOULD GO UNCHALLENGED, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT THE CHANGE HAD ALREADY BEEN OFFICIALLY MADE, I WASN'T PREPARED TO SEE EDWARD STANDING OUTSIDE THE BIOLOGY CLASSROOM BEFORE FOURTH PERIOD.**

**Sighing inwardly, I turned around, prepared to suffer the consequences of skipping out on my first fourth period Biology class in order to avoid a confrontation with Edward.**

**"Bella, wait," he said, and I could hear the effort he was making to keep his voice calm.**

**"Go to class, Edward," I said.**

**"Not until you talk to me," he said. "I thought we were becoming friends, and now you've changed your schedule. What's going on? Did I do something wrong?"**

**I could hear the plea in his voice, and images of our Tuesday Biology class briefly flashed across my memory, followed immediately by my encounter with James.**

**"Just accept this, Edward. Forget what happened last Tuesday and just accept that we can't be friends," I said.**

**"Forks High is a small school, in case you haven't noticed," Edward said. "You might be able to change your schedule, but unless you plan on dropping out entirely, you can't avoid me forever."**

**He had me there. I knew that changing my schedule wasn't the perfect 'end-all' solution to my plan to keep Edward safe should James come back, but had convinced myself that it was a good beginning and that Edward would listen to Alice and respect that he needed to leave me alone. Having him point out the flaws in my plan made me realize that explaining things to him wouldn't change anything and might even help the situation, I said "You asked for an explanation, so I'll give you one. Meet me after school. Now get to class so I can do the same."**

**The rest of the day passed pretty much at its normal tedious pace, although I did notice that Edward skipped out on lunch, but figured that since I was sticking by my decision to keep him safe by cutting him out of my life, his actions were really none of my business. When school finally let out, I headed outside to my car and was waiting for Edward when he arrived a few minutes later.**

**"Okay, I'm here," he said. "You said you'd explain things, so start explaining."**

**I nodded, but didn't immediately say anything. I'd agreed to give him an explanation, but I was suddenly unsure of just how much to tell him, or how to explain things in a way that wouldn't make him in any way suspicious or curious.**

**Finally, I said "First off, I want you to know that I really enjoyed getting to know you in Biology on Tuesday. You're a really great guy, so my changing my schedule has nothing to do with you or anything you think you did wrong."**

**"The old 'it's not you, it's me' cliché isn't going to work," Edward said.**

**"There's this guy who's been stalking me," I said, finally deciding to give him as much truth as I thought he needed, but without going into specific details. "He's not the nicest guy, and I was worried that he'll try to hurt the people I'm close to in order to get to me. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt simply because we're friends."**

**"I'm a big boy, Bella. I don't need you protecting me. In fact, I would've thought you'd ****want ****me in your life so if this guy comes back, you've got somebody to lean on and don't have to deal with him on your own."**

**Once again, his logic stopped me in my tracks, and I realized that I'd let the fact that he was human and James and I weren't lead me into thinking that I had to protect him from James in any way that I could, without realizing that he didn't really need protecting. I also realized that, if protecting him truly was what I wanted to, he'd actually probably be more safe knowing that James might come after him in order to get to me than he would be without me in his life.**

**"I'm sorry," I said, smiling.**

**"It's actually kind of sweet, you wanting to keep me safe," Edward said. "It's usually the guy wanting to keep the girl safe."**

**I laughed to hide my embarrassment at his compliment. **

"**You're right," I said."I probably should've explained things, but I was scared. This guy – James – is really dangerous."**

**He and I lapsed into silence for a few moments before I said "Can we start this over? I don't think Mrs. Cope will let me change my schedule again, so we're stuck facing Biology on our own, but, since it's not likely that Banner will give our classes separate assignments, maybe we can work together on projects and stuff."**

**"Sounds like a plan to me," Edward said. He then did something that I wasn't expecting; he gave me a hug. The physical contact was so sudden that I barely got my shielding in place in time to tamp down the urge to bare my fangs and suck him dry, but I couldn't stop my eyes from darkening. Hoping he wouldn't notice, I looked back up at him and saw that he was blushing, a clear indication that the hug hadn't been premeditated.**

**"Sorry," he said. "I don't know why I did that."**

**"It's okay," I said, "although you might want to warn me next time."**

**We lapsed into conversation about our Biology classes, comparing and contrasting what we'd been assigned to do, and before either of us realized it, the sun was starting to go down.**

**"We should probably get going; if it gets any later, we might get the cops called on us because our families won't have any clue where we are," I said, more for his benefit than because it was actually a true statement (since I knew that Alice would've more than likely seen my conversation with Edward).**

**I could see that he would've liked to have kept talking, but he nodded and said "See you on Monday?"**

**I nodded.**

**"Let's meet up before school," I said. I knew from Alice that he had band practice until 7:30, but realized that, if we were going to make our friendship work in spite of my fears, we needed to be able to spend time together, and the 15 minutes between the end of his band practice and the start of school seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so, since it wouldn't raise questions of why I didn't actually eat the lunch I brought from home with me every single day, and wouldn't give James any opportunity to observe me and Edward together if he was in fact watching me, or if he did happen to come back the way that spending time together after school might.**

**I watched Edward walk away and get into his Volvo, which I now realized was the exact same model – if not the same color – as my own car, and smiled to myself as I got into the driver's seat and drove home.**


End file.
